South field hockey plays inspired second half, loses in penalty strokes to Iroquois
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Williamsville South's Darragh Kerr checks out her shot as Iroquois' Hannah Rowland watches in the Lady Billies' 4-3 penalty stroke loss in the Section VI Class B final last Thursday at Amherst High School's Dimp Wagner Field. Photo by Joe Eberle Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

Trailing 2-0 in the second half of the Section VI Class B final to top-seeded Iroquois last Thursday at Dimp Wagner Field at Amherst High School, the Williamsville South field hockey team decided it was time to play.

The Lady Billies (9-9-2), seeded seventh, scored three goals in 7:03 in the second half, the last two tallies coming 48 seconds apart, to take a 3-2 lead over heavily favored Iroquois, whose only loss of the season was to Class A school Williamsville North. But the Lady Chiefs tied the game and scored twice in penalty strokes to win 4-3 and end South's magical playoff run.

"I think we were underrated all season," said South coach Mary Ferenczy. "I knew we had the potential to play better than what we displayed. I thought the turning point of the season was when we beat Starpoint (2-1 in double overtime in quarterfinals). That gave us momentum."

The Starpoint win sparked South to a 2-0 win over Amherst, Class B champions in 2004 and 2005 and runner-up last year, last Tuesday in the semifinals, and to hang with Iroquois in the second half.

Iroquois (19-1-1) jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Tesa Ramsdell with 15:12 left in the first half and 26:06 remaining in the second half. But as soon as junior co-captain Ashley Ferenczy, on a corner situation, tipped in a pass from sophomore Kate Kurzanski by the left post, South was ready to upset the defending section champions.

"We were playing a little tentative in the first half," said coach Ferenczy. "They were beating us to the ball. Once Ashley scored, it sparked us. We played with a lot of heart in the second half and in overtime."

Senior co-captain Darragh Kerr tied the game at the 8:40 mark right after a corner situation. Kurzanski assisted.

An Iroquois timeout after the goal didn't stop South. Sixty-eight seconds later, Kurzanski passed to senior Lauren Falzone, who scored on a two-on-one situation to put the Lady Billies ahead, 3-2. It was Falzone's 17th goal of the year.

Nicole Augustine tied the score for Iroquois less than a minute later on a penalty shot.

The game was scoreless after two 10-minute overtimes. Iroquois had the better scoring opportunities, its best chance coming in second overtime after a scramble in front of the South net was stopped by goalie Megan Hull and Kerr.

Grace Kincella and Augustine scored on Iroquois' first and fourth penalty stroke opportunities; South did not score.

Kurzanski scored both of South's goals against Amherst. Her first goal came from Falzone with 18:29 remaining in the first half; the second tally was tipped in from a centering pass by Alison Ferenczy with 3:11 left in the game. Kurzanski only had two goals coming into the game.

"The win was a total team effort," said coach Ferenczy.

Coach Ferenczy also lauded the play of Alison Ferenczy.

"She sent great centering passes and created scoring opportunities," said coach Ferenczy.

Coach Ferenczy loses five seniors - Kerr, Falzone, Ally Liebel, Sarah Crane and Danielle Magiera but returns 11 players.

"This season proved so much can be accomplished when you work together," said coach Ferenczy. "I'm proud of all of the girls for their accomplishments."

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com